Illustrations of The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam by Edmund J. Sullivan

His seventy-six illustrations for The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam
(Methuen, 1913) treat FitzGerald's verses realistically. Brangwyn's
gorgeousness and glory of the east are missing and are replaced by an
almost literal rendering of the lines. These are actual Persians a
Sullivan saw them, not the symbolical figures of Love and Life
Laughter and Carousal of the translator. Many of the drawings, made
in line, chalk and wash, had appeared already in the pages of The Pall Mall Magazine. All are interesting; some are excellent, but there is a feeling of restraint about them hardly in keeping with the defiant spirit of the book. The drawing of the hands throughout is wonderful/
Boyd Houghton's influence can be felt often and one wonders how that artist of the 'sixties, with his knowledge and interest in the east, would have illustrated the poem. The Omar Khayyam club
commissioned replicas of the mug illustrating verse LXIV. These were
made by Arnold Bennett's brother and used at their meetings. — James Thorpe, 31

References

The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám translated by Edward FitzGerald. New York: Illustrated Editions Company, nd. [Originally published in London by Methuen in 1913]. Internet Archive version. Web. 23 December 2012.